Meltdown  leD's Remix
by leDia-chan
Summary: Just how often is someone granted the opportunity to extreme power? Rin seizes her own chance in a world caving in on itself, even as she tries to forget her terrible past, and a betrayal from a friend. First chapter is poetry, but gets longer - R&R!
1. The Investigator

**00:04:23:37 – The Investigator**

She sat inside the room,

The thinking room.

Where she solved them.

_She said to me,_

_Where is your reactor?_

The files lay strewn on the floor,

A white jacket on a chair.

**Reaction makes meltdown, shakedown.**

The sun streaming in

And a fresh summer's breeze,

Tossing a few coils of her hair.

**A crowd shouting in chorus.**

**Five, seven and ten times.**

**The town was filled with brilliant light.**

A strange death, and a note,

Even more strange.

_Wrap my hands around and round,_

_Oh early afternoon, overflowing with light._

The tear stains and the crumpled

Grey jacket.

And suddenly the idea strikes.

**The gray crowd and the white crowd,**

**The colored yellow hair.**

**A crackling old television set,**

**An old clock on the wall.**

Running out the door and down the street,

A caroler and metallic bends sing their song,

The same song as the night before.

What to find and what to seek?

A flash of yellow and silken white

At the peripheral.

_All the laughter_

_Echoing through my head._

The old mansion

Just down the beaten, well used path.

Its old and browning trees.

Its old and gone piano keys.

What notes did it sing before,

Oh shattered windows and hearts?

**A panicked call,**

**A strangled scream.**

**Hard rock, roll on down.**

_The rings of light_

_And blue_

_Just promise to meet me_

_At the edge of my fate._

_Holding hands at the sought after crescendo,_

_And orange and yellow moon._

Turning back again,

As hearts shall always know.

What memories could it hold?

Can it hold?

Those tattered remains

Of a time when Blue and Green mixed.

The dusty footprints and the sandy

Ground,

Leading back to a hidden world.

Another folder slips

And spills its secrets.

_The sketched pipes and_

_Clock, and winding symbol._

_Turning, revolution, _

_Scream out in delight._

**Well, there you have it. My look at both the original and Miku's remix of Meltdown. This will have more chapters! Can you guess what the bold and italics indicate? :3 Review!**


	2. The Piano and Green

**Hello one and all. Can you believe that was just the prolouge? pauses Okay, maybe not. Anyways, yes this is my take on both version of Meltdown. So it is AU.**

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><p><em>The newscaster's face turned serious. An image lit up beside her, displaying a government logo.<em>

_'Local and national UU officials have confirmed the creation of the material Ivanodium. Ivanodium is said to produce off the scale energy readings when subjected to...'_

_A yellow haired figure pulled a vial from their white jacket, inspecting it in the glow of the television in the dark room. The liquid inside glowed a subtle, smoldering blue. The person turned it back and forth, watching a few bubbles slide up and down hypnotically. _

_"I-va-no-di-um," the person murmured, leaning back and letting their hair splay behind them on the couch, "What secrets do you hold?"_

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><p>Not so long ago, a war ravaged the world called Earth.<p>

One half of the population was destroyed, mainly in once-Europe, once-Africa and once-South America.

When these lands were barren, the opposing factions finally saw their errors and ceased fighting. They withdrew to their lands to heal and rebuild.

The world now stands under a single banner called the United Union, with its figure-head the Lady Grace.

But 50 years of unsupervised work has left the government riddled with corruption, filled with greedy politicians looking to usurp one another. The Lady and her guards are holed up in their stronghold near once-Europe's Great Britian.

And that is not yet the worst.

The power being used for government debate is slowly draining away, and scientists are under duress to find a solution.

Ivanodium.

The potential answer to all the world's problems in the form of an innocent blue liquid.

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><p><strong><em>Fifteen years earlier:<em>**

A little girl in a white sundress ran down a cobbled path, her bare feet slapping the worn stones.

"Mom! Momma!" Sun-yellow hair tickled her shoulders. A soft tinkling noise seeped from the house, and the feet slowed to a stop. Wondering at the noise, the girl inched towards the open, white-washed doors. She peered into the room, and saw a magnificent (to her childish eyes) black piano sitting in the centre of the floor. Her mother, wearing a similar - but blue - dress.

Her fingers danced across the keys, playing a haunting melody that sent shivers up the little girl's spine.

The girl watched in rapt attention as her mother began to sing the lullaby from when she was a newborn.

"Hey-, take me to a sunny morn,

I wish to fly with you,

Wanna fly with you.

The beautiful blue sky surrounds us,

So wonderful.

Hey-, take me to a midnight moon,

If I could say goodnight,

I'll have to say goodnight.

All my love and hope,

You are my miracle,

You are my wings to fly."

Her mother's hands stopped, as did her singing, and she stared at her hands as if she had never seen them before. Cautiously, she lowered back to the piano, and began the melody again, but softer.

"And if I must go away,

Please let it be by,

A- yellow moon.

All this shattered love,

It is no longer mine,

It is most surely mine."

Her mother broke down sobbing, and the girl stepped tentatively into the room.

"Momma? Why are you crying? I didn't know you could play the piano." Her mother spun around, her face stricken with fear. She hurried over to the girl.

"Shh. You can't tell anyone I was playing."

"Why not?"

"Because... because it isn't allowed, dear. It isn't wanted these days." Her mother pulled a piece of white fabric from a pocket, and tied it around the little girl's head, leaving the two ends pointing upwards resolutely.

"I love you, my dear. Always remember that."

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><p>Rin sat on the cool floor, tucked just inside the very same open doors a few years later. Her head was buried into her arms, and she sniffled.<p>

A strong gust of wind sent the pale, gosamer curtains a-flight in the room and blew in a few drops of the falling rain.

Atop her head sat the two points of the white fabric tied around her head, keeping her bangs out of her face.

"Why are you crying?" A voice spoke behind her.

Turning, she caught the sight of distinctive green hair cascading around a girl's shoulders; her watery blue eyes looked curiously at the other.

"W-who are you? Why are you here?" the yellow-haired girl stammered out.

"My mum is visiting yours, and I was told you were around," The green-haired girl asked, scuffing a foot on the tiles, "I asked you why you are crying."

"Oh." The yellow-haired girl turned back to the rain an twiddled one of the ends on the white fabric on her head. She sniffed and rubbed her nose furiously.

"Well, _my _mum told me I couldn't learn how to play that," She gestured to the black piano, it's lid down. The other girl's brow creased downwards.

"What is it? It seems old, like something that should be gotten rid of."

"Are you serious? Get rid of that?" The yellow girl scoffed, "You should hear my mum play it..."

"Play it? How so?"

"I'll show you!" She grabbed the hand of the strange new girl who thought the grand piano was something to destroy, and led her over to the bench.

The yellow girl raised her hands to the ivory and ebony keys, and carefully pushed one down, not knowing exactly what it would sound like herself. A wavering note rang out into the air, settling softly over the two.

The green girl drew in a breath, and closed her eyes as the yellow girl began to plunk out a tune, which tumbled up and down the piano like waves on the beach.

"Rin, what are you doing?" Came her mother's quaking voice from the inner doorway. The green girl squeaked in shock and fell off the bench onto the floor, while Rin's hands crashed onto the keys in a blitz of noise.

"Err, I was just showing her what the piano sounded like." Her mother's eyes were wide and fearful, and Rin shrunk down on the bench in shame.

"I don't want to hear you play it again. Ever."

Her mother stepped closer to Rin and placed a hand on her head. Her brown eyes had an odd light to them.

"We don't want _others_ finding out about it, now do we?" Rin shook her head.

With that, her mother twirled away back into the depths of the airy house, her guest lingering a moment before turning away as well, blue hair spinning.

But not before her emerald eyes bore into Rin with a frightening intensity, daring her to just lay a finger on the keys again.

The green girl spoke up, bringing Rin out of her musing.

"I'm Miku, by the way. My mum is a member of the government who's lookin' for ways to stop the wastin' of energy." The green girl said nonchalantly.

"Rin." She inclined her head at Miku.

"Why did your mother not want you to play the... piano was it? It sounded beautiful. I'm sorry about what I said earlier," Miku said. Rin chewed her bottom lip nervously.

"Mum says the government doesn't like things that are too old. They say it makes them look dated... weak."

"Oh... shame that. I would love to hear more!" Miku gushed.

"I know!" Rin pulled her to a side of the room, and pulled a clear plastic case from a shelf. Inside was a circular piece of silver that danced with rainbows. Rin pulled it out and plopped it into a small player, along with a set of headphones. She placed on in one ear, an offered the other to Miku, who did the same.

When both were set, she pressed the sleek button with an arrow on it.

Miku gasped as delicate piano music seeped into her ear. She glanced at Rin as a cello filtered in with the piano, lending a mournful cast to the music.

Rin began to hum along, and Miku soon joined her.

This was how the two mothers found them, staring off into the distance, a small pile of CDs scattered around them.

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><p><em><strong>Excerpt from The Domine Plant Incident: A History<strong>_

_No one knows why the body had a pair of headphones on it, or why they were of such an old style. Perhaps they wanted to have their last minutes in the company of music? _

_Regardless, another question would be as to how they came to be in the possession of such an item, when the existence of them is frowned upon in today's society that tries to forget its terrible past. Especially now..._


	3. A Game and 'Nappers

**Thanks for the alerts and the review, they let me know you read and enjoy! Even saying it was a good chapter and you're looking forward to the next one makes me feel all awesome! :D And just a clarification, last chapter Miku and Rin were both around 8-10 years old. I've decided to boost the rating up to T for this chapter, but it's nothing major. If you seriously think anything... horrible is going to happen... get your mind out of the gutter. **

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><p><strong><em>Five Years Later:<em>**

Rin hadn't touched those beautiful monochromatic keys in over five years, and she avoided the room where the _monstrosity _rested whenever she was there.

And to be quite honest, she was perfectly fine with that.

She and her mother had moved out of the large house only a few years ago, and had found a spacious apartment in a downtown area. The now-empty house still remained, its gardens and shimmering windows tucked between houses, used only as a summer's getaway; a hidden sanctuary from a turbulent world.

The political world had devolved into nothing more than adults bickering about money and supplies, their nations held together only by citizens' pride. It was a right mess, one that no one wanted in the first place, and Rin now knew the reason.

The world hadn't managed to fully heal since the War, and it was slowly sinking back to the level it had been at.

Looking back through those five years, she felt a distinctive difference between then and what she considered the here-and-now. Ever since Miku's mother had nailed her with that piercing gaze, she had fallen into an introverted, desolate personality. In fact, she considered her current outlook to a completely different existence from then.

Rin currently found herself on the balcony of the apartment, her brilliant yellow hair blowing in a pre-storm wind. She began to hum a melody floating through her head.

A flare of lightning flickered across the sky, lighting up the darkened room behind her in bright blue and white for a split second.

Another crash came from behind her, and this time it wasn't lightning that caused it.

She began to turn around to see what had made the noise, when a thin line of pain flared on her neck, and she stiffened.

"Move, and you are dead, little girl."

"W-what?"

"Quiet!" Hands pulled her into the room an covered her eyes, and dark figures forced the doors closed, even as a strong gust of wind rattled the panes of glass and tore off one of the draperies. It billowed angrily and ended up wrapped up around Rin and her captor. It obscured her vision and sent her into a panic, thrashing wildly. The knife on her neck slipped, drawing a bead of blood that dripped down her neck.

The captor cursed, and his (for the voice was too deep to be a female) two henchman jumped forward to control the fabric.

Rin scrambled towards the door, which was ajar into the hallway.

She shrieked in pain as a boot came down on her hand and wrist, sending flashes of pain into her mind. Her body collapsed onto the carpet, the air in her lungs coming out in a great big rush.

"Thought you could get away, little girl?"

Still limp, hands grabbed just above her elbows and dragged her out of the room, down into the living room. They dumped her in a plush chair, and Rin made to jump out of it, when she felt the knife pressed against her throat again, and she crumpled back into the chair in defeat.

A loud thumping noise came from down another hallway opposite to the one she came from reached her ears, and she glanced over. Two more men dressed in all black tromped into the room, dragging her wheezing, startled mother behind them. Her brown eyes were wide and seemed curiously filled with life.

"You know why we are here?" The leader asked from behind Rin. Her mother chuckled.

"Anton, how delightful of you to finally join this mad game! I was wondering when you would succumb to the lure of extreme power. Tell me, what does my daughter have to do with this?" Rin was bewildered, what was going on? They weren't trying to kill her and her mother?

Anton growled and pressed the knife harder against Rin's throat, drawing another bead of ruby blood.

"It has everything. As soon as she takes up her role, everything will be skewed in _your _favor! We can't allow that!"

"Mo-mother... What g-game?" Rin struggled to speak without putting anymore force on the blade near her neck. The man laughed.

"Oh, you haven't told her, have you? How wonderful! Maybe the world isn't as lost as we thought it was!" Rin's mother looked at her with sorrowful eyes, shaking her head. She glanced above Rin's head at where Anton was standing.

"It's nothing dear. At least, nothing..."

"Silence!" Anton roared, "We made a deal twenty years ago, when we started this!"

"Pity."

Rin's mother shook her head in mock shame, but didn't look to be saying anything else.

"We're leaving, my fellows," Anton drawled in an aloof voice. The two strangers around her mother grabber her, and headed towards the door into the tower's hallway.

"Mother!" Rin yelled, struggling against her captor. Anton growled, and whapped her head with the knife a bit harshly. Not enough to send her into unconsiousness, but it left her dazed nonetheless.

"Goodbye, little girl. Don't go looking for answers too soon, or else you may lose yourself in it all..." He said mysteriously, drawing away from Rin.

"Goodnight, sweat dreams. I'll see you under the midnight moon." He sang softly, caressing her cheek in and odd gesture of familiarity. Anton grinned wickedly and in a blur of motion, he hit Rin on the head with the blunt side of the knife, and made to exit the door with her mother and the 'nappers.

The last thing Rin saw before she slipped away was Anton removing his mask and gazing back at her, his cool eyes so similar to Miku's mother's, and yet so different.

They too would remain engraved in her mind for as long as she would remember.

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><p><strong><em>Excerpt from The Domine Plant Incident: A History - <em>**

_No one knows the exact political factions at the time of the War, and the fifty-one year period afterwards referred to simply as the Proceeding. Without this information, it is difficult to decipher exactly how intricate the Proceeding really was. Was it simply two sides (which would simplify the mess immensely)? Or did it feature as many as ten (Which would imply political intrigue and deception on many parts)?_

_The only records the are confirmed hint at two groups given the named the Union and the Alliance of the Northern Hemisphere (henceforth labeled at tU and ANH for practicality). As most likely implied, the Union later evolved into the United Union, which was able to crush the ANH in the bloody Battle of the Pacific Rim. The battle will be discussed in further detail later on, however membership documents from the Union show a sharp uptick around a year before the battle, which indicates the absorption of other, undocumented groups..._


	4. Quick AN

Hey all, just a quick question. Do you want me to mix in some of the RK remix of Meltdown with the story? So far, both Rin's original version and Miku's dub will be included. I'm pretty sure I want to, but I wanted to see what you all thought.

At this point in the timeline, Rin just had her mother taken away, and the next few chapters will go over her change because of that. I think now would be a good time for Rin to go into a rebellious phase, which would bring in the RK remix.

There's a poll on my profile, please drop a review **and/or** vote! All votes will be counted!

This chapter will be deleted as soon as the next one is ready.


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